Book Hippo

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Dickens And Other Children

I remember reading an interview with an author who likened writing books to having children. Publishing those books was, to him, the same as having children go out into the world.
I have heard this before, when I was in painting. People insisted that creating was like having children.
I have to say I disagree with this entirely. To me, you don't write a story to make a whole different entity with it's own personality but you write to clarify who you yourself are. I don't think I'm being selfish here although some might accuse me of that.
Now, when you have a child and someone doesn't like that child, the main response on the part of the parent is dislike to the person speaking. When someone doesn't like you story, you think about it, does that person have a point and if it's too hurtful, you just suck it up, shrug your shoulders and move on.
Now when you die, the 'child' advocates say, your child is known to the world. Me, I write so that when I die, something of myself will be left behind.
We don't read Charles Dickens and say, "I really like his grandchildren" which is what you say if your one hundred years later than the date of his death and have met his grandchildren who may be much different than he was.
When we read Charles Dickens, we say, "I like Dickens." Unless you don't like his book then you say, "I don't like Dickens" To me, that's because Dicken's books are parts of who he was and are not separate entities at all.
They ARE him.
It's what I want for myself even though people may not even read me one hundred years after I'm dead. Still, it's motivation and that's what I need for right now.
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